Backyard critters get front-row seat in Groton

By Emily Royalty, eroyalty@nashobapub.com

Updated:
01/21/2013 10:16:02 AM EST

Richard Roth of Littleton, owner of Creature Teachers, holds a female porcupine named Wheezy, as he talks about Wildlife in Our Backyards at the Nashua River Watershed Association Saturday in Groton. SUN/JULIA MALAKIE

GROTON -- The next time someone comes up to you to tell you about the 100-pound snapping turtle they just saw crossing the road, take it with a grain of salt, said Richard Roth. Local snapping turtles weigh up to about only about 35 pounds.

"I've had people tell me they've seen one a hundred pounds," he said. "No, you didn't. People tend to exaggerate the size when they see a snapping turtle."

Roth, owner of The Creature Teachers in Littleton, was guest speaker at the Nashua River Watershed Association Saturday, dispelling myths and educating the public about wild animals found locally at the event "Wildlife in Your Backyard."

And Roth wasn't the only special guest. With him was a menagerie of "backyard" critters, rodents and reptiles, prey and predators alike.

The main room of the NRWA was packed full of children and parents, all vying for a view of every animal Roth produced from its carrier, each larger and more surprising than the last.

All the animals, with the exception of two, were born and raised in captivity, said Roth, and for very good reason: The natural chain of command.

"Every animal out there has a job to do. If we take it out of its home, it can't do its job. If it can't do its job, then maybe another animal can't do its job," said Roth, stating the lessons in child-friendly language.

The other reason for using domesticated wildlife, he said, is the wild-born animals, unused to the surroundings, would be terrified of the focused attention of a crowd.

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"You don't want to stress an animal out who's not used to this," said Roth.

Starting small, Roth pulled out Fiona, a flying squirrel. Roth had purchased Fiona from a breeder in Texas.

"I asked him if they would just chuck them in the air and send them to Massachusetts; they said no, you have to buy them a plane ticket," joked Roth, to the boisterous laughter of the children.

In fact, said Roth, despite their name, the squirrels can't fly at all.

"They should be called gliding squirrels," said Roth, exhibiting Fiona's "wings," a flap of skin that runs from her back feet to her front feet.

After tucking Fiona back in to her cage, Roth brought out Violet the woodchuck. Unlike her name suggests, said Roth, the word "woodchuck" has nothing to do with chucking wood, as one child questioned.

The word comes from the Algonquian term for the animal. Woodchucks, also known as groundhogs, which Roth said were some of his favorite animals, are playful when domesticated. But he warned against trying to capture one in the wild.

"They've got quite a set of choppers so if I saw one in the garden, I wouldn't go up and try to move it," he said.

Next came out the snakes: a corn snake and a milk snake.

"They're also called the farmer's friend," said Roth.

The snakes are used for pest control around the crops and the cows, gobbling up mice that cross their path in the field or barn. The milk snake is one of the two animals Roth found in the wild, crossing his driveway.

The snapping turtle is Roth's second rescued wild creature.

"This turtle has gone through a whole lot of people trying to kill it," said Roth.

The reason is because of her propensity for crossing the road, which snapping turtles do to lay their eggs. The best way to redirect a snapping turtle in the road is to rotate it by the back of its shell and give it a little scoot.

To grab it by the tail could injure its spine, and to go in front on its powerful jaws could result in personal injury.

"You don't want to get on the business end of a snapping turtle," said Roth.

Pepper, a 6-year-old gray fox, was the next guest to make an appearance. Unlike red foxes, gray foxes are native to the area. Although red foxes have been around for hundreds of years, they were originally introduced to the area by the British as a game animal. Still, red foxes are more commonly seen than their gray cousins, which are capable of climbing trees.

But, said Roth, up in the foliage they'd have the chance of running into the next species he brought out: porcupines.

Still, he said, cuddling the quilled Wheezy, "As much as they love being up in trees, they're very slow-moving, very clumsy animals. It's fairly common to see porcupines fall right out of a tree."

Porcupines possess more than 30,000 quills, and although they're not capable of throwing them, they are barbed at the end and will lodge in flesh.

"If you get in a tussle with a porcupine, you're going to end up with all the quills in you," said Roth.

If you do get one or two quills stuck in you, said Roth, pulling one out of his own arm, the best thing to do is clip it and pull it out.

"The quills are like balloons; they're full of air," said Roth.

If your dog ends up with a face-full, take it to the vet.

Because of their quills, porcupines only have one natural enemy: fishers, who are fast enough to attack porcupines in the face, one of their two vulnerable areas, including the stomach.

Years ago, fishers were hunted for their pelts. The trapping, which caused a significant population decrease in the animals, is a prime example of the effect on nature by removing one species from its habitat. At the time, porcupines, which eat vegetation, began decimating the forest, much to the concern of loggers.

After putting away Wheezy, out came the fisher. This fisher, said Roth, is a baby and not animal-aggressive.

"Right now she's like a big ferret. We're hoping she stays this way," said Roth.

In the wild, the animals, related to weasels, can be aggressive and are opportunistic hunters. The Creature Teachers is the only organization in Massachusetts licensed to have a fisher for educational purposes.

More information about Roth and the creatures can be found at thecreature teachers.com.

The NRWA frequently hosts nature programs on the weekends. On Sunday, Jan. 27, from 1-2 p.m., they will lead a guided trail walk at Heald Street Orchard in Pepperell. The walk is free and open to the public. More information is available at nashuariverwatershed.org.

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